De-Westernizing Communication Studies Through Domesticating the Global South: A Critical Examination of the Mechanisms Shaping Scholarly Participation in the Field

Abstract

In light of scholarly critiques of the Western canon, this study aims to (1) identify the communication and media journals that most frequently publish work on “de-Westernization” and “Global South” topics, and (2) explore the academic paths of scholars who have written about inequities in the field. Based on a literature review and descriptive data, we assess the educational background and institutional affiliation of 437 scholars who authored 246 articles published between 1999 and 2023 in JCR-indexed communication journals. The findings reveal that most scholars engaging with these topics were educated in or affiliated with institutions in the Global North. In addition, while efforts to diversify perspectives in the field are commendable, they may unintentionally lead to tokenism, whereby few scholars are positioned to symbolically represent entire regions. We extend a provocative invitation to the field to critically examine whether—and how—academic knowledge production on de-Westernization and the Global South has been domesticated to conform to mainstream academic practices and frameworks.